Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

béarnaise sauce

Recipe by
Francine Lizotte
Surrey South, BC

This sauce is traditionally served with steaks but can also be used with fish, eggs, sandwiches, and steamed vegetable.

yield 1 cup
prep time 5 Min
cook time 20 Min
method Stove Top

Ingredients For béarnaise sauce

  • INFUSED WINE
  • 1/2 c
    shallots, finely sliced (lyonnaise cut)
  • 1/2 c
    dry white wine such as chardonnay or pinot grigio
  • 1/4 c
    white wine vinegar (substitute champagne vinegar)
  • 2 lg
    sprigs tarragon
  • 1 tsp
    mixed peppercorns
  • SAUCE
  • 4 lg
    free-run egg yolks
  • 1 pinch
    ground himalayan sea salt, or to taste
  • 3/4 c
    lukewarm butter, melted
  • 1 tsp
    freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 Tbsp
    fresh tarragon, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp
    lukewarm water, if needed

How To Make béarnaise sauce

  • 1
    INFUSED WINE:
  • 2
    In a medium saucepan, add shallots, white wine, white wine vinegar, tarragon and peppercorns; stir well. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer until it reduces to about 3 to 4 tbsp., about 15 minutes.
  • 3
    Remove from the heat and strain the mixture through a fine sieve sitting over a small bowl, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible; set aside.
  • 4
    SAUCE:
  • 5
    In another medium saucepan, add yolks and whisk very well until they get thick, about 1 minute.
  • 6
    While whisking, pour in the white wine reduction.
  • 7
    Set the heat to medium and season a little bit with salt. While whisking constantly, keep lifting the saucepan off the heat - the trick here is to not shock the yolks by gradually heating them up.
  • 8
    When the custard gets thick, move the saucepan away from the heat and whisking continuously, start adding the melted butter, pouring in a few drops at first – remember don’t shock the yolks! Gradually add more until it’s all incorporated.
  • 9
    Add lemon juice and fresh chopped tarragon; whisk into the mixture. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. If the sauce gets too thick, add about half a tablespoon of lukewarm water to thin it out.
  • 10
    If not using it right away, move to the back burner, keeping the sauce warm on very low temperature. To prevent skin formation, place a piece of wax paper on top, making sure it touches the surface.
  • 11
    To view this recipe on YouTube, click on this link >>>> https://youtu.be/bJs7hrN2A4U
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